Virtue: The Sons of Scotland, Book One
This is a love story set in Scotland in the middle of the 12th century. Alexander, raised as a foundling at a monastery, is planning to be a scribe, until the prior sends him off to serve as tutor to an unruly young lord. Domnall has little interest in learning to read, but he does have a comely sister, and the pair fall in love.
These, however, are turbulent times in Scotland’s history, and as ambitious lords plot and rebellion simmers, the ruthless political currents threaten to sweep aside something so personal as a romantic attachment. Since Sibylla is a niece of King David, she is useful to form a dynastic marriage, and Alexander’s own antecedents prove more illustrious, and dangerous, than he imagined.
This offers a plausible picture of the complex political situation in the Highlands and of prevailing attitudes in this era, and though Castle Kilmuir seems grander and more spacious than one might expect, the author has done her research. Unfortunately, the politics themselves are confusing, and they overshadow the love story. As a result, the plot grows complicated; nor is it helped by a hanging conclusion that leaves much to be resolved in sequels.
